The pen is truly mightier than the sword. Never did I think that people would stoop down to the level of absent-mindedness that we are today. We have traded actual, valuable, meaningful information for a bunch of polished, shiny, useless crap. Through the use of he rhetoric, news stations and reporters have falsely convinced our American public to believe irrelevant information is relevant. Though rhetorical techniques, one is able to effectively persuade others about important, relevant topics. Rhetoric is very useful, but when in the wrong hands, is dangerously and ignorantly misused.  It truly blows my mind. Pop culture does nothing beneficially informative through their use of rhetorical technic. Who truly benefits from knowing what a certain celebrity is eating, or who’s pregnant, or who’s using ecstasy? They make the general public believe this information is important and is something we need to know in order to survive. What it really is can be summarized in on word: disgusting. Its turned society into a bunch of zombies, that’s what its done. “Follow what the cute girls on TV say, because they’re smart” is what they are screaming at us. Makes you think, which head are they trying to appeal to? Academia is, in a sense, more psychologically productive. They feed the mind with useful information and skills, which are turned to advancing ones’ skillset. Rather than being fed herbage and irrelevant facts, it has taught me the true secrets to writing. I’ve learned (and still am leaning) the arts of the world of persuasion. In my knowledge, I’ve learned to start by establishing credibility, using logic, and appealing to the reader give the reader a reassurance in the author’s opinion and position on the certain topic in discussion.